Abstract. Scholars, governmental agencies, and concerned citizens are interested in developing empirical predictive models to quantitatively assess the vegetative productivity potentials of reconstructed soils (neo- sols). This research presents equations for a northern Michigan mining region in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, based on data derived from the National Resources Conservation Service. We employed principal component analysis to develop models to predict the vegetative productivity of corn, corn silage, oats, alfalfa/hay, Irish potatoes, red maple (Acer rubrum L.), white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench] Voss), red pine (Pinus resinosa Aniton), eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.), jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), and lilac (Syringa vulgaris L.). Soil attributes that were examined in this research include: available water holding capacity, moist bulk density, % clay, % rock fragments, hydraulic conductivity, % organic matter, soil reactivity, % slope, and topographic position. Four predictive equations based on landscape topography have been developed and are described as an all-mesic woody plant and crop equation, a xeric equation, an equation specific to jack pine, and a wet environment equation. The models were highly significant (p<0.0001) and explained 87.93%, 74.52%, 65.33%, and 87.68% of the variation in site productivity of the respective landscape setting. These equations are intended to assist in efforts to assess the vegetative productivity potentials of reconstructed soils on post-mined landscapes and other disturbed landscapes.


The effect of WO3 doping on microstructural and electrical properties of ZnO-Pr6O11 based varistor materials was investigated. The doped WO3 plays a role of inhibitor in ZnO grain growth, resulting in decreased average grain size from 2.68 to 1.68 μm with increasing doping level of WO3 from 0 to 0.5 mol%. When the doping level of WO3 was lower than 0.05 mol%, the nonlinear current-voltage characteristics of the obtained varistors could be improved significantly with increasing amount of WO3 doped. But when the doping level of WO3 became higher, their nonlinear current-voltage performance would be dramatically deteriorated when more WO3 was doped. The optimum nonlinear coefficient, varistor voltage, and leakage current of the samples were about 13.71, 710 V/mm and 13 μA/cm2, respectively, when the doping level of WO3 was in the range from 0.03 to 0.05 mol%.


The purpose of this study was to (1) obtain learning data for writing  Indonesian child stories based on character education, (2) develop a learning model for writing child stories based on character education, and (3) disseminate learning models for writing Indonesian child stories based on character education to support the creative industries in grade 5 of Elementary School with lesson study. These goals are achieved through the development of research methods (Borg & Gall) lesson study. To achieve these objectives, the first phase or the first year I will do theoretical studies and surveys about the learning data writing children's stories Indonesia-based character education. Stage III or the third year will be conducted in the form of dissemination of learning model writing children's stories Indonesia-based character education to support the creative industries in grade 5 of Elementary School with lesson study.


Intermittent catheterisation is suitable for a range of patients and has a high level of patient satisfaction. Careful education is required to minimise the risk of complications and nurses should be aware of the various types of catheter available.


Objective To analyze the significance of Thrombelastography(TEG) in detecting coagulation function among liver cancer patients.Methods One hundred and eighty-two patients were detected by TEG and compared with 40 normal cases to investigate the coagulation status.Results The count of R was significantly shortened and CI was significantly increased in patients compared with normal cases.From the number of unusual cases whose detection values were beyond normal ranges,the patients group were significantly increased compared with normal group in the count of R,K,Angle,MA and CI.Conclusion The coagulation status of liver cancer patients were disordered and complicated.TEG could be used to detect coagulation function and to provide reference for clinical blood transfusion.


Many pipelines are not operated under steady state conditions. This is in particular true for pipelines that are highly integrated with other pipelines, or have many different feed or gas take-off points. In many cases, the demand changes frequently, and cannot always be planned with a long time horizon.In this study, a simplified transient pipeline model, together with a high fidelity model of a compressor installation and its control system are used to evaluate control strategies that can optimize the fuel consumption and reaction time in these transient situations. The model for the compressor installation contains an accurate representation of the compressor and driver performance, together with the capability to simulate different, but realistic control strategies.This allows specific and general recommendations on the use of control algorithms.Copyright © 2014 by ASME and Solar Turbines Incorporated


Abstract α‐Aminosilanes are an important class of organic compounds that show biological activity. In this communication, a new approach to α‐aminosilanes that utilizes photoredox catalysis to enable three‐component coupling of organo(tristrimethylsilyl)silanes with feedstock alkylamines and aldehydes is presented. A wide range of highly functionalized α‐aminosilanes can be obtained in good yields under mild conditions. Both primary amines and secondary amines are compatible with this transformation. Moreover, optically pure α‐aminosilanes are accessible by using chiral amines. Mechanistic studies indicate that reactions proceed through radical/radical cross‐coupling of silyl radicals with α‐amino alkyl radicals.


Provided are a camera system capable of performing self-calibration even when a camera's angle of view or orientation changes and a self-calibration method therefor. The camera system is characterized by comprising: a real image input unit for inputting an image captured by a camera; a feature point analysis unit for analyzing feature points acquired from the real image input unit; a parameter calculation unit that identifies the position of a corresponding feature point among the feature points in the image, calculates the parameters of the camera required for performing calibration at a plurality of positions in a photography site using the feature point information, and stores in a table the parameters with the position information; a valid calibration position estimation unit that inputs the information of the target position set in the photography site, and estimates one or a plurality of valid calibration positions that are valid for performing the calibration, using the parameters at the plurality of positions in the photography site stored in the table; a camera control path estimation unit that estimates a camera control path from the present camera position to the target position through the valid calibration position on the basis of the one or the plurality of valid calibration positions and the target position; a camera control unit for controlling the camera in accordance with the estimated path; and a parameter estimation unit for estimating the parameters at the target position using a camera control value and the valid calibration positions.


Objective: To evaluate the overlap of sleep disorders - obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and insomnia and sleep habits (short sleep duration) and differences in clinical characteristics between patients with different sleep disorders in a large sample of patients with hypertension. Design and method: In a sub-study of the cross-sectional questionnaire-based observational Pol-Fokus study we included 3477 hypertensive patients attending a routine visit in primary or specialist care. To be included patients had to be >18 years old and had to be treated for at least 12 months with antihypertensive drugs. We defined hypertension control as blood pressure (BP) levels both < 140 mmHg/ < 90 mmHg. High risk of OSA was assessed on the basis of STOP-Bang questionnaire results. Insomnia was evaluated by means of Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) and the patients with AIS score of 8 or more points were labeled as insomniacs. Short sleep duration was defined as usual sleep time < 6 hours. Cardiovascular (CV) risk was evaluated according to 2013 ESH/ESC guidelines. Results: Valid data on all three evaluated sleep disorders was available in 3241 patients (mean age 62.7 +/- 12.7 years; F 57.5%, M 42.5%). 47.1% of patients were free of any sleep disorder. Sleep disorders were presents with following frequency: high risk of OSA (17.6%), insomnia (13.5%), high risk of OSA and insomnia (10.2%), insomnia and short sleep duration (5.5%), all three (5.1%). Both insomnia and insomnia with short sleep duration were more frequent among women than men (20.7% and 9.3% vs. 4.5% and 0.5% respectively; p < 0.001). All sleep disturbances were characterized by lower rate of hypertension control as compared with patients without those disturbances. The lowest rate of HTN-control was evident in patients with all three disturbances. Coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease and high/very high CV risk were more frequent in patients with sleep disturbances with the highest rate in patients with coexistence of sleep disturbances. Conclusions: Our results showed that sleep disturbances and their coexistence are relatively common in treated patients with hypertension. Coexistence of those disturbances is related with worse blood pressure control and CV profile.


A description is given of an advanced laboratory experiment in which the student is able to verify the Compton effect in detail. The experiment allows the student to examine the angular dependence of the energy of the Compton-scattered photon and of the Compton-scattered electron. The simultaneity of the two scattered "particles" is the key to the experimental observations. The results allow one to directly verify conservation of energy for single-photon scattering events. The agreement of experiment and theory then allow one to conclude that momentum is also conserved in these encounters.


Breast cancer is a major public health problem in most countries of the world. The European Union breast cancer incidence is 109.8 / 100,000 women per year, breast cancer incidence in Romania increased from 25 / 100,000 women in 1988 to 50.56 / 100,000 women in 2006. In fact, this malignant tumor disease ranks first in cancer pathology in women. In terms of Arad County, in the period 1999-2009 can be clearly seen as a certain oscillation in the crescendo of the disease through breast cancer, especially among the female population. In absolute figures in 1999 breast cancer incidence in women was about 26 / 100,000 women and about 70 / 100,000 women in 2009. Relationship between year 1999 and 2009, when illness with breast cancer is 2.69, new cases recorded in 2009 are nearly three times more.


The data and theoretical treatment contained in this paper are the continuation of a series of researches instituted to investigate the equilibria existing in certain gaseous-aqueous systems. In this work the vapor pressures and electrolytic conductivities of aqueous solutions of sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and ammonia have been measured with greater precision than ever before over a temperature range from 0 to 25 °C. and over a concentration range where their respective vapor pressures do not exceed one atmosphere. From the data thus derived, equilibria relations have been calculated and certain changes have been made in the mode of theoretical procedure involved in this type of calculation.With regard to the equilibria existing in the three systems, the conclusions drawn may be summarized as follows: Practically all of the ammonia exists in the combined form and practically all the carbon dioxide exists as free carbon dioxide in the aqueous solutions in the temperature range investigated. The amoun...


The COVID-19 outbreak forced governments to implement regional measures avoiding the spread of the virus, while evaluating their economic effects. However, official Spanish regional economic information is scarce. We estimate monthly regional aggregated indicators for each Spanish region combining a mixed frequency Dynamic Factor Model with a recursive procedure that identifies the most informative variables capturing economic developments in each region. The set of variables that better describe aggregate economic conditions varies considerably across the regions, which emphasizes the heterogeneity in their productive structures. Our results suggest that the post-pandemic recovery will be uneven across territories, stressing the need to monitor regional economic developments. © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.


The opening lines of the Eclogues are justly famous: Tityre, tu patulae recubans sub tegmine fagisiluestrem tenui Musam meditaris auena.(E. 1.1-2)Tityrus, you lie beneath spread of sheltering beechStudying the woodland Muse on a thin oat-straw. Their rich, inviting allusiveness is well known. The sonal echo of Theocritus Idylls 1.1, the Callimachean canon (tenui, 'thin'; cf. tēn Mousan leptaleēn, 'the thin Muse', Aetia fr.1.24 Pf.), the Lucretian siluestrem Musam ('woodland Muse') provoke the imagination, goad the intellect. Virgil's reference to his Roman predecessor especially intrigues. The context alluded to — Lucretius' ascription (DRN 4.577-89) of the fiction of satyrs, nymphs and the siluestris Musa of Pan to the echo-producing properties of rocky, solitary places — contains embryonically a theory of poetics, an evaluation of pastoral song, which, quickened into life in the Eclogues' initial statement, appears to be of programmatic significance. The theory — the viewing of pastoral poetry as essentially (to use Marie Desport's compelling phrase) 'une poésie à écho' — may be termed the echoic theory of pastoral song. Its main import is — as I take it — reductive: pastoral song is to be construed as the internal resonance of the singer's fictive world, condemned to triviality by its inability to reach beyond the boundaries of private experience or private vision so as to affect the world of action, events, history.


Traditional intervention operations with coiled tubing (CT) in extended reach horizontal wells might be difficult to access due to lockup from frictional forces and operational inefficiencies. Using conventional shifting tools requires multiple runs to shift open and close multiple sliding sleeve doors (SSD). This paper is a case study of an electric-line powered shifting intervention operation to shift open an SSD, circulate fluids though the sleeve and into the annulus, and then close and repeat this for another SSD in a long horizontal well—all in a single run.
 The paper discusses the different methods that can be used to efficiently seek and latch onto the shifting profiles using a tractor, wireline cable, and the shifting tool itself with an inchworm motion. The electric-line shifting tool monitored and verified the opening and closing of the sleeves in real time using its onboard sensors. These techniques were effectively deployed in multiple wells that required the annulus to be displaced with fluid after running smart completions. The completions were installed in the well with the SSDs in a closed position, and the shifting intervention consisted in opening the SSD, pumping fluids through the sleeve, and closing the SSD. The tool was anchored in place in the wellbore during the entire circulating operation, and the SSD was subsequently closed. This operation was then repeated on the second SSD in the wellbore, and the entire operation was completed in a single run. Also, no additional caliper run was needed as the shifting tool verified the position of the SSDs.
 These methods were used in a long horizontal well with the help of real-time measurements. The tool measurements identified if the SSDs were in open or closed position or anywhere in-between. The shifting tool provided confirmation via its measurements that the sleeve was not partially open. This was particularly important when pumping fluid through the annulus to achieve the maximum flow through the sleeve. Operating using electric-line was extremely efficient and eliminated the need to perform multiple runs, thus achieving time savings on the rig.
 This is the first time that a paper discusses the different seek methods that can be used for carrying out a electric-line mechanical intervention operation. It represents a novel method using a shifting tool as a caliper to probe and measure the completion inner diameter changes while seeking for the profile. It provides a valuable method for reliably and confidently locating and latching onto a shifting profile. Finally, this is the first time that a paper correlates the theoretical mechanics of shifting a sliding sleeve with consistent results from system integration tests and downhole measurements from the real job.


Canada became actively engaged in space astronomy in the 1990s by contributing two fine guidance sensors to the FUSE Far-UV mission (NASA 1999-2008). In the same period, Canada contributed to ODIN's infrared instrument (ESA 2001-2006) and correlators for VSOP (JAXA 1997-2005). In early 2000, Canada developed its own space telescope, Micro-variability and Observations of STars (MOST), a 15-cm telescope on a microsatellite, operating since 2003, and more recently contributed to the realization of the BRITE nanosatellites constellation. Canada also provided hardware to the European Space Agency's Herschel HIFI instrument and simulators to the SPIRE instrument and data analysis tools for Planck. More recently the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) delivered detector units for the UVIT instrument on board the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) ASTROSAT. The CSA's most important contribution to a space astronomy mission to date is the Fine Guidance Senor (FGS) and Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) instrument to NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. The CSA is currently building the laser metrology system for JAXA's ASTRO-H hard X-ray telescope. Canadian astronomers contributed to several high profile stratospheric balloon projects investigating the CMB and the CSA recently established a balloon launch facility. As expressed in Canada's new Space Policy Framework announced in February 2014, Canada remains committed to future space exploration endeavors. The policy aims at ensure that Canada is a sought-after partner in the international space exploration missions that serve Canada's national interests; and continuing to invest in the development of Canadian contributions in the form of advanced systems and optical instruments. In the longer term, through consultations and in keeping the Canadian astronomical community's proposed Long Range Plan, the CSA is exploring possibilities to contributions to important missions such as WFIRST, SPICA and Athena and in other areas, by initiating concept and pre-mission studies and enabling technology developments. These reflect the following scientific priorities identified: dark energy and the accelerating universe, addressed by large survey missions; high-energy astrophysics, which includes UV and X-ray missions; and the understanding of star formation and proto-planetary systems and to begin characterizing exoplanets, mainly by infra-red space observatories.


We study the effect of exchange splitting of repulsive interactions on electronic phase transitions in the multiorbital topological crystalline insulator ${\rm Pb}_{1-x}{\rm Sn}_{x}{\rm Te}$, when the chemical potential is tuned to the vicinity of low-lying Type-II Van Hove singularities. Nontrivial Berry phases associated with the Bloch states impart momentum-dependence to electron interactions in the relevant band. We use a "multipatch" parquet renormalization group analysis for studying the competition of different electronic phases, and find that if the dominant fixed-point interactions correspond to antiparallel spin configurations, then a chiral p-wave Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state is favoured, otherwise, no phase transition takes place.


Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by amyloid-β (Aβ) deposits and neurofibrillary tangles. Pterostilbene (PTE), a bioactive component mainly in blueberries, is found to have neuroprotective properties. However, the specific underlying mechanisms of PTE in protecting AD remain unclear. Herein, we explored its effects on Aβ25–35-induced neuronal damage in vivo and in vitro and further compared the roles with its structural analog resveratrol (RES) in improving learning–memory deficits. We found that intragastric administration of PTE (40 mg/kg) displayed more effective neuroprotection on Aβ25–35-induced cognitive dysfunction assessed using the novel object test, Y-maze test, and Morris water maze test. Then, we found that PTE improved neuronal plasticity and alleviated neuronal loss both in vivo and in vitro. Additionally, PTE upregulated the expression of sirtuin-1 (SIRT1) and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and the level of superoxide dismutase (SOD), and inhibited mitochondria-dependent apoptosis in the Aβ25–35-treated group. However, SIRT1 inhibitor EX527 reversed the neuroprotection and induced a drop in mitochondrial membrane potential in PTE-treated primary cortical neurons. Our data suggest that PTE's enhancing learning–memory ability and improving neuroplasticity might be related to inhibiting mitochondria-dependent apoptosis via the antioxidant effect regulated by SIRT1/Nrf2 in AD.


Exploring the semantic context in scene images is essential for indoor scene recognition. However, due to the diverse intra-class spatial layouts and the coexisting inter-class objects, modeling contextual relationships to adapt various image characteristics is a great challenge. Existing contextual modeling methods for indoor scene recognition exhibit two limitations: 1) During training, space-independent information, such as color, may hinder optimizing the network's capacity to represent the spatial context. 2) These methods often overlook the differences in coexisting objects across different scenes, suppressing scene recognition performance. To address these limitations, we propose SpaCoNet, which simultaneously models the Spatial relation and Co-occurrence of objects based on semantic segmentation. Firstly, the semantic spatial relation module (SSRM) is designed to explore the spatial relation among objects within a scene. With the help of semantic segmentation, this module decouples the spatial information from the image, effectively avoiding the influence of irrelevant features. Secondly, both spatial context features from the SSRM and deep features from the Image Feature Extraction Module are used to distinguish the coexisting object across different scenes. Finally, utilizing the discriminative features mentioned above, we employ the self-attention mechanism to explore the long-range co-occurrence among objects, and further generate a semantic-guided feature representation for indoor scene recognition. Experimental results on three widely used scene datasets demonstrate the effectiveness and generality of the proposed method. The code will be made publicly available after the blind review process is completed.


Abstract MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding molecules that play a pivotal part in brain development and the processes of establishment and maintenance of dendrites and neurite outgrowth by modulating gene expression. Dysregulation of miRNAs has been linked with neurological disorders. Exogenous miRNAs are unstable in the plasma due to degradation by nucleases; hence, choosing a harmless and effective delivery mode is crucial in the quest for miRNA-based therapeutics to treat neurological disorders. This review aims to shed light on the emerging role of nanotechnology-based approaches using miRNAs to treat neurodegenerative disorders. Nanotechnology encompasses a broad spectrum of applications, one of which is its role in developing nanoscale drug delivery systems. Nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems have attracted the attention of researchers due to the superiority of this mode over conventional treatment systems in terms of their favorable attributes such as bio-compatibility, bio-degradability, extremely small size, and the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. This review explores nanotechnology-based approaches using miRNAs highlighting the use of viral vectors as well as non-viral vectors (such as exosomes, liposome nanoparticles, gold and magnetic nanoparticles, dendrimer-based nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles) to treat neurodegenerative disorders.


Forms are a major source of input for getting data into the underlying medical databases of electronic health/medical record (EHR/EMR) systems. Standardizing encounter forms and integrating data collected from different forms into a single database would greatly reduce heterogeneity. In this paper, we describe a framework, the fEHR-plus system, that annotates, maps, and integrates user-specified encounter forms into a single database. The development of the framework incorporates machine learning, standard medical terminology, and the principles of database design. We conduct an empirical study with 52 forms collected from 6 medical institutions for evaluating the performance of the fEHR-plus system. The overall results show that the system is promising towards improving interoperability among electronic health record systems.


—The accuracy of the geometric and dynamic models for robots and humans is crucial for simulation, control, and motion analysis. For example, joint torque, which is a function of geometric and dynamic parameters, is a critical variable that heavily impacts the performance of model-based control, or that can motivate a clinical decision after a biomechanical analysis. Fortunately, these models can be identified using extensive works from literature. However, for a non-expert, building an identification model and designing an experimentation plan, which should not require long hours and/or lead to poor results, is not a trivial task, especially for anthropometric structures such as humanoids or humans that need frequent update. In this work, we propose a unified framework for geometric calibration and dynamic identification in the form of a Python open-source toolbox. Besides identification model building and data processing, the toolbox can automatically generate exciting postures and motions to minimize the experimental burden from the robot, measurements, and environment description. The possibilities of this toolbox are exemplified with several datasets of human, humanoid, and serial robots.


The allegations related to the antihypertensive effect of Ficus exasperata in the treatment of hypertension were identified. This increases its use in primary health care for many people and can cause disturbances in the balance of water and electrolytes. The aim of this work was to compare the effects of Ficus exasperata aqueous leaf extract (FEFIX) and a thiazide diuretic on urinary excretion in normal rats. Single doses of FEFIX (50 mg/kg b.wt.) and hydrochlorothiazide (5 mg/kg b.wt.) were administered to rats previously received fluid overload (50 ml/kg b.wt.). The urine were collected, measured and sampled for 24 hours. Blood was sampled at the end of the experiment. FEFIX induced a relatively important volume excretion (120.25 ± 5.75%) and higher than that induced by hydrochlorothiazide (91.50 ± 6.38%). FEFIX increases urinary excretion of electrolytes (Na, K, Cl and Ca), creatinine and urea like hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ). These urinary excretion of electrolytes decreased serum sodium and serum chloride. At the end of this work, it appears that FEFIX and HCTZ increased urine volume, urinary excretion of electrolytes and decreased plasma electrolytes. However, FEFIX effects are relatively more important.


of that generation began questioning American white supremacy as a result. The heart of the book is the story of how the Bradens facilitated the Wade family' s purchase of a home on Rone C:ourt in the 1-ouisville suburb of Shively. This episode exemplifies in microcosm some of the key features of tIle 19505.specifically the heightened desire of African Americans to seek release froni the confinement of segregated housing. the increased willingness of some whites to commit themselves to a struggle fc, r racial equality even as McCarthyism still sought to demonize all sc,cial activism as Kremlin-inspired, and an upsurge in domestic terrorism aimed at preserving Jim Crow. It is also worth noting that in some struggles.as in the Braden case, some measure of victory was won even though the Wades. in the end, were forced to leave Rone Court. Specificall>·, the Kentucky


Introduction: Preclinical diastolic dysfunction (PDD) is defined as left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) without symptoms. PDD is a known risk...


The only tourism attraction with waterfall based located closest to the center of Padang city administration.isPemandianLubukTampuruang. This attraction is still natural, had not been built and managed by local government as well as the private sector in the Belimbing sub district, The district of Belimbing, Padang,West Sumatra province. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to formulate appropriate policies to be applied in the development of tourism attractions that can improve Micro, Small, Medium EnterpriseS (UMKM) in the area. This research employed SWOT analysis, by analyzing the strengths and weaknesses (internal), opportunities and threats (external) in the tourism object Pemandian LubukTampuruang. The data used are primary data and secondary data. Based on this research, its main strength is that it is the only waterfall tourist attraction in the city that is easy to be reached, while the weakness is inadequate infrastructure.The opportunitiesof this attraction is it has the potential to be a good quality tourism attraction while the threats to be anticipated is a sudden natural disaster that would have a negative impact and impede the development of the attraction. Suggested strategy in developing Pemandian LubukTampuruang Baths is SO strategy (Strengths Opportunitis) which is a strategy to maximize the existing strengths in the location to seize opportunities that will make this attraction even better than before.


The effect is studied of pH magnitude on the efficiency of separation of sodium and calcium ions in the presence of disodium salt of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), and the possibility is revealed of the separation of these ions at pH 9, which is due to the fact that sodium ions are transferred predominantly through the cationite membrane while the CaY 2- complex anions are transferred mainly through anionite membrane, under these conditions. Studying the effect of the current density on the separation of sodium and calcium ions shows that calcium ions transfer through the cationite membrane terminates at a current density higher than 12mA cm -2 . A study has been made of mass transfer of complex salt Na 2 CaY through ionite membranes from solutions of various concentration. It is shown that it is advantageous to process dilute chelate solutions under the conditions of flow electrodialysis, because the efficiency of processing a complex salt solution falls with an increase in its concentration. On examination of EDTA mass transfer through ion-exchange membranes during electrodialysis, a barrier effect is discovered, i.e. a decrease in the transport of EDTA anions through the anionite membrane at a current density higher than the limiting one. This is caused by the amphoteric properties of EDTA


The exchange Isotherms of Co(tn>:+ from Na-co(tn) 1 ·IRC-50 by monovalent ions in aqueous and 50% ethanol-water (v/v) media are of the S-type indicative of coopera tive sorption. In aqueous solution the desorption efficiency of the ions Is in the order : NH 4 >LI>Na>K>Rb>Cs while In 50% ethanol-water the sequence Is Na>K>Lf> Rb>Cs. The extent or release or Co(tn>:+ from the resin matrix by each ion is mncb higher fn 50% ethanol-water medinm than In pure aqueous solution. It bas been suggested that site binding of the ions with the resin followed by release of water molecules from the solvation shells of the participating species takes place. The plots of Jog(selectlvity coefficient) against both the hydrated Ionic radius and the reciprocal of the Debye Hiickellon-slze parameter a• In aqueous medium are Jlnear. This implies that both the parameters may be used to correlate the relative affinities or the mono· valent Ions for tbe resin surface.


It seems obligatory to see George Herbert's famous "Coloss. 3.3" as a deliberate experiment, one that may or may not fully succeed: the ten-line poem contains an italicized, capitalized statement running obliquely or diagonally through the text. The poem is made up of three statements; the italicized line adds a fourth statement. I suspect that the typical reader reads the italicized statement both before and after he


Abstract : Data concerning the rigid/eroding-rod threshold transition are reported for hemispherical-nosed tungsten rods penetrating into thick 5083-aluminum targets. Presented data quantitatively buttress existing explanations. The current analysis suggests that the penetrator must bring to bear a different apparent strength in the noneroding- vs. the eroding-penetration regimes. Conventional one-dimensional penetration analysis reveals that the noneroding datum is wholly consistent with the notion of treating the rod as if it penetrated in a rigid-body fashion, possessing unrealistically high yield strength. Study of a recovered rod fragment reveals that the penetrating rod nonetheless deformed, but did so without erosion. Such an observation for hemispherical-nosed rods is consistent with past qualitative explanations posited for ogival-nosed rods. The phenomenon, supported by analysis, is that an exaggerated stress was axially applied by the rod to the target interface, composed of both the rod's intrinsic yield strength plus a confining stress caused by a lateral interference fit between the rod and target during the penetration event.


Background: The mechanism of prosaposin processing to generate saposins A-D is unknown. Results: Epidermis-specific mesotrypsin and caspase-14 generated mature saposins from prosaposin. Deficiency of prosaposin or saposin A resulted in loss of intercellular lipid components necessary for maintenance of skin permeability barrier properties. Conclusion: Mesotrypsin and caspase-14 are involved in prosaposin processing. Significance: Saposin generation in epidermis is regulated in a differentiation-associated manner. A proteomics-based search for molecules interacting with caspase-14 identified prosaposin and epidermal mesotrypsin as candidates. Prosaposin is a precursor of four sphingolipid activator proteins (saposins A–D) that are essential for lysosomal hydrolysis of sphingolipids. Thus, we hypothesized that caspase-14 and mesotrypsin participate in processing of prosaposin. Because we identified a saposin A sequence as an interactor with these proteases, we prepared a specific antibody to saposin A and focused on saposin A-related physiological reactions. We found that mesotrypsin generated saposins A–D from prosaposin, and mature caspase-14 contributed to this process by activating mesotrypsinogen to mesotrypsin. Knockdown of these proteases markedly down-regulated saposin A synthesis in skin equivalent models. Saposin A was localized in granular cells, whereas prosaposin was present in the upper layer of human epidermis. The proximity ligation assay confirmed interaction between prosaposin, caspase-14, and mesotrypsin in the granular layer. Oil Red staining showed that the lipid envelope was significantly reduced in the cornified layer of skin from saposin A-deficient mice. Ultrastructural studies revealed severely disorganized cornified layer structure in both prosaposin- and saposin A-deficient mice. Overall, our results indicate that epidermal mesotrypsin and caspase-14 work cooperatively in prosaposin processing. We propose that they thereby contribute to permeability barrier formation in vivo.


In this paper we consider the linear elliptic equation of the second order in domains in R n thin in n k directions, 0 < k < n. We apply the Ansatz of the formal expansion method (with respect to the small parameter (thickness)) which implies the scaling of the loads in the equation that allows the reduction of the problem from dimension n to dimension k. Appropriate convergence result together with correctors is derived.


The various components of heavy clay processing machinery are subject to heavy wear and tear. With a view to countering such detrimental processes, an analysis of the tribological system is recommended along with appropriate constructional and materialtechnological measures. Tailored anti-wear measures include the use of white cast iron, hardfacing (also known as build-up welding), compound wear plates, compound castings and composite alloys. The merits of the various material solutions are described.


Aim. To evaluate local contractility of left and right ventricular (LV, RV) myocardium, as well as its dynamics in acute drug test (AMT) with nitroglycerin (NG) in patients with recurrent atrial fibrillation (AF), during sinus rhythm maintenance period. Material and methods. The study included 120 patients aged 39-82 years (mean age 61.3±8.9 years): 20 patients with recurrent AF and arterial hypertension (AH) (Group IA); 50 patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and recurrent AF (Group IB); 50 individuals from control group (Group II). To assess inotropic myocardial function, balanced radionuclide ventriculography was performed in all participants. Local LV and RV contractility was studied in unified 16-segment ventricular model. After registering baseline hemodynamic parameters, local contractility was assessed again in ADT with NG – 30 minutes after sublingual NG administration (0.5-1.0 mg). Results. In Groups IA and IB, local hypo- and akinesis were observed. In ADT with NG, patients from Groups IA and IB demonstrated improved local contractility: akinetic segment number significantly reduced, normokinetic LV and RV zone number substantially increased. In Group II, during ADT with NG, local contractility increased due to hypokinetic segments. Conclusion. Local contractility disturbances in patients with recurrent AF during sinus rhythm maintenance were manifested as hypo- and akinetic zones. In ADT with NG, patients demonstrated significant improvement of local contractility, due to decreased number of akinetic segments. In control group, number of hypokinetic segments significantly decreased.


The present invention relates to a method for updating map data of a navigation system in a vehicle, the navigation system, a digital map of a road / path network, and a digital supplementary map, the digital supplement the map, the road / path network data to supplement is stored. This method, A step of using a) digital map, creating the differential data of the updated digital map, b) a step of replacing the digital map, which is updated digital map in the vehicle, c) using the difference data includes updating the digital supplemental map in a vehicle, a.


Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research, 6, 82. http://dx.doi.org/10.5703/1288284316197 needed to supply 65% of Ford's current usage. Purchasing the available 12,165 pounds of local romaine lettuce at this projected cost would return $21,437 USD to the greater Lafayette economy each year. Consistent purchasing by Purdue Dining would enable growers in the area to expand production and invest in diversifying their farms. A key example of this practice can be illustrated by Ford's 2014–2015 purchases from the Purdue Student Farm. With Ford's participation, the farm was able to sell 100% of its harvest, minimizing waste and maximizing profi ts. Consistent buying patterns from large institutions would offer small growers stable fi nancial platforms to grow their businesses and would foster the development of other farm enterprises.


Foreign relations under the US Constitution starts with the paradox, also seen in domestic matters, of relatively scant text providing guidance for the exercise of vast power. Founding understandings, structural inference, and ongoing constitutional custom and precedent have filled in much, though hardly all, of the framework over the course of two hundred years. As a result, two basic questions frame the relationship between the Constitution and US foreign policy: (1) which parts of the US government, alone or in combination, properly exercise authority in the making of foreign policy; and (2) once made, what is the status of the nation's international legal obligations in the US domestic legal system.
 The making of American foreign policy is framed by the Constitution's commitment to separation of powers. Congress, the president, and the courts are all allocated discrete yet significant foreign affairs authority. Determining the exact borders and overlaps in areas such as the use of military force, emergency measures, and treaty termination continues to generate controversy. The status of international law in the US legal system in the first instance turns on whether resulting obligations derive from agreements or custom. The United States enters into international agreements in three ways: treaties, congressional-executive agreements, and sole executive agreements. Complex doctrine deals with the domestic applicability of treaties in particular. US courts primarily apply customary international law in two basic ways. They can exercise a version of their common lawmaking authority to fashion rules of decision based on international custom. They also apply customary international law when incorporated into domestic law by statute.


The polyether polysiloxane quaternary ammonium block copolymer was synthesized with end allyl polyether,tetramethyldihydrobisiloxane,epoxy propylene ether and D_(4) as raw materials.The effect of the type of the auxiliary amendment of polyether quaternary ammonium polysiloxane block copolymer and the length of alkyl on the performance of shampoo was discussed.The effect of linear and comb-type of polyether quaternary ammonium polysiloxane block copolymer on the conditioning of shampoo was compared.The results showed that as the mass ratio of polyether and polysiloxane grew higher in polyether polysiloxane quaternary ammonium block copolymer,the viscosity and foam height decreased.The conditioning of the shampoo was relevant to the content of polyether in polyether polysiloxane quaternary ammonium block copolymer.The content of hydrophilic polyether went higher,the hand feeling of shampoo in hygrometric state was better,meanwhile in the dry state,in reverse.The hand feeling in dry state of shampoo made from polyether polysiloxane quaternary ammonium block copolymer with linear type was better than that of comb-type,and the drag eoefficient of friction in dry state was a little bit lower than that of comb-type.The right choice of proper auxiliary amendment could settle the problem of degradation viscocity of shampoo.The length of alkyl 16~18 in polyether polysiloxane quaternary ammonium block copolymer was feasible.


Among a large range of hybrid Sorbus species (whitebeams) that occur in Britain, two, S. arranensis Hedl. and 5. pseudofennica E.F. Warb., are endemic to the island of Arran, Scotland (Richards, 1975) (Fig. 1). These species have been known and recognized as endemics for more than a century (Bryce, 1872; Landsboroughs, 1875), although they have not been distinguished as separate species until more recently (Clapham et ai, 1952). They are both limited in distribution to northern Arran, where they are confined (at several localities) to small woodland remnants in a largely treeless landscape. Their presence is most notable in Glen Diomhan, part of which is designated as a National Nature Reserve. There are only an estimated 500 trees of each species left, with approximately 65% of the population of both species growing in the Reserve, and it is doubtful whether natural regeneration is currently adequate for their maintenance. Consequently these two species are regarded as being closer to extinction in Scotland than any other tree or shrub, with the exception of Salix lanata L. in Scotland (Bignal, 1980).


= 0.05 h-1 and D = 0.5 h-', respectively). The resistance of magnesium-limited cells to killing by cationic proteins isolated from the leukocytes was shown to be growth-rate dependent, the slowest-growing (D = 0.05 h-') cells being the most resistant. Carbon-limited cells were sensitive to killing by the cationic proteins at all growth rates tested. Antisera raised in rabbits to all types of cells and commercial anti-Pseudomonas serum rapidly agglutinated magnesium-limited cells but failed to agglutinate carbon-limited cells. There was some indication that slow-growing (D = 0.05 h-'), magnesium-limited cells agglutinated most readily with both types of antisera. No difference was detected in the mouse toxicity of heat-killed cells grown under the various conditions.


Allan H. Meltzer is University Professor of Political Economy and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University and Visiting Scholar, American Enterprise Institute. There is no "monetarist position" on the budget deficit. Monetarism is mainly about the effects of money on inflation. Deficits have an effect on inflation--defined as the maintained rate of price changeonly if they are financed by issuing money. Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil are recent examples of inflations fmanced by money issued to pay for government spending. In these or other countries with budget deficits equal to 15 percent of GNP or more, people observe that the government is unwilling to raise taxes or reduce spending; they expect inflation, so they resist holding domestic money. There is a flight from money, rapid money growth, and rising inflation. When the budget deficit was reduced, Argentina and Bolivia were ~ble to reduce money growth and inflation. Some economists argue that deficits must sooner or later increase money growth and produce inflation. Experience in most developed countries does not support this claim. An example is Italy, which managed in the 1980s to reduce inflation from 15 or 20 percent a year to 5 percent or less, while budget deficits have remained at 10 percent of GNP or more. At the Italian share of GNP, the U.S. budget deficit would be $600 billion. And while Italy is an extreme example, it is not a unique example of a country with a persistent budget deficit and a declining rate of inflation. Our own country and Japan are other examples. Inflation here has fallen from 10 percent to about 3 percent despite the budget deficits of the 1980s and 90s. Inflation in Japan was reduced to about ·zero at a time when the government budget deficits remained equal to 3 percent of GNP or more. The lesson to be learned is that a country with a deficit can avoid inflation by borrowing to finance the deficit while slowing money growth. Should we, however, be concerned that, as in Mexico, Brazil, or Argentina, continued borrowing will pile up debts that we will have difficulty servicing? W ill foreigners refuse to lend, forcing a rise in interest rates and an economic day of reckoning? Adam Smith warned that there is much ruin in a nation. Is it all about to come due? Continuing clamor about the deficit obscures what should be the central issue. Borrowing, hence the budget deficit, can be useful if we use the borrowed resources productively. If the return on our investments, or the value we place on consumption, exceeds what we pay on the debt, we are made berter offby borrowing to fmance expenditures. Because our borrowing is in dollars and the dollar is not rigidly pegged, we do not face problems arising from a mismanaged foreign-exchange system as Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and other large debtors did. Some argue that the problem is that, as a nation, we are consuming not investing. Hence, we must pay future income for what is usually described as a consumption binge. We should not accept this argument at face value. T here is reason to be suspicious of the published data and to question the


The deepwater portion of the Kutei Basin has been an exploration focus for Unocal Indonesia since 1996, which has led to several gas and oil discoveries. Numerous oil, gas and rock samples have been collected during exploration drilling, and analyzed for geochemistry to refine working model(s) of the operating deepwater petroleum system. The geochemical analyses indicate that allochthonous land-plant organic matter is the source of hydrocarbons in the deepwater Kutei Basin. The organic matter in turbidites is dominated by plant leaf fragments (occurring as thin coaly laminae), woody debris and less frequently resin bodies and recycled coaly particles. TOC contents can range from 1 to over 50% with hydrogen indices mostly between 100 and 400 (mg HC/g TOC). The overall kerogen assemblages are type III and subordinate type II, consistent with a gas condensate to a gas volatile oil petroleum system. No marine algal remains are evident in the deepwater sources, nor are any suggested by oil analyses. Oil/condensate chemistries vary widely but the fundamental genetic makeup of these deepwater liquids shares similar characteristics including (1) high pristane/phytane, oleanane/hopane and bicadinane/hopane ratios, (2) a C29-sterane dominance and the general lack of C30-steranes, (3) high lupanoids, (4) low sulfur and asphaltene, and (5) variable wax content. Gases are mainly thermogenic and the mixing of "biogenic" methane * Unocal Corporation and CO2 are observed in some shallow Pliocene reservoirs. The generation of oil and gas mostly occurred at "oil window" maturities. Migration fractionation and gas leakage, not source facies, exercised the dominant control on oil versus gas distribution in the Kutei deepwater. It is believed that single-phase hydrocarbon fluids were generated from the Middleand Lower-Miocene strata, and migrated vertically through faults and fractured shales. Lower pressure-temperature in the upper Miocene and Pliocene reservoirs allowed phase segregation into gas and oil zones. Interbedded oil and gas resulted from multiple episodes of migration charging. Iterations of migration, fractionation and gas leakage enriched oils in an otherwise gas-rich basin.


The synthesis,spectral and X-ray crystal structure of the title complex are described.The crystal crystallize in monoclinic system,space group P2(1)/n with C_(26)H_(20)NiN_6O_4,cell parameters:a=1.254 9(3) nm,b=1.778 8(5) nm,c=1.329 2(4) nm;β=115.310(5)°,M_r=539.18,in the complex,the nickel(Ⅱ) ion is six coordinated by two ligand anions forming a distorted octahedron geometry,and the dimer is formed by intermolecule hydrogen bond.


As an issue,that the study of the relation on the contemporary high education for the second classroom its teaching.On the austere background,traditional major is facing with challenge the hunt job of the college students at present.So that it has come the Contemporary researchers of high education the areas of concern.It is the example,as the practical teaching of the department of history,Xi'an University of Arts Science.We will discuss the concept of the second classroom,its position of personnel training plan and its relation,etc for the article.We will Concluded it is the second classroom to classroom teaching complement each other,constitute education as a whole,in personnel training plays an important role in.


Introduction. This article explores parental perceptions of young children's everyday life information practices related to their hobbies and interests. Method. Thirty-one parents of children between the ages of four and eight years old completed a survey about their children's hobbies and interests. Questions were related to the nature of the children's activities and the ways in which children seek, use, and share information related to their hobbies and interests. Analysis. Survey responses were analysed for common themes in information seeking, information use and information sharing. Information practices of children with intense interests were compared with information practices of children with more typical hobbies and interests. Results. Findings indicate that young children exhibit a heavy reliance on interpersonal interactions for information seeking and information sharing, while information use is more likely to be an individual activity. Children with intense interests did not engage in information practices of a different nature from those with more typical hobbies and interests. Conclusion. The findings of this study indicate that children as young as four years of age engage in observable information practices related to their hobbies and interests. Additional research is needed to better understand young children's everyday life information practices.


We introduce quantum interactive proof systems, which are interactive proof systems in which the prover and verifier may perform quantum computations and exchange quantum messages. It is proved that every language in PSPACE has a quantum interactive proof system that requires a total of only three messages to be sent between the prover and verifier and has exponentially small (one-sided) probability of error. It follows that quantum interactive proof systems are strictly more powerful than classical interactive proof systems in the constant-round case unless the polynomial time hierarchy collapses to the second level.


T h e present study demonstrates and confirms the dependence o f the enterotoxin o n Ca'+ for induction o f effects on Vcro cells. l h e chemicals that interfered with the enterotoxin action, mediate their action through Ca? + transport and metabolism. T h e ability of Neutral Red to inhibit the enterotoxin action could be linked to the ability of this chemical to block cation transport (Barbosa & Peters, 197 1). Protective action observed with propranolol ( a P-adrenergic blocker) and lanthanum chloride (a specific antagonist o f Ca" is probably due t o thc ability of these chemicals to block potential Ca2+ channels (Suzuki et al., 1986) and to depress Ca'+ATPase activity, respectively. Therefore, it seems that inhibition of the active Ca'+ transport plays a crucial role in preventing enterotoxin action. Furthermore, results obtained with Ruthenium Red, a specific inhibitor of C a ? + uptake across the inner membrane of the mitochondria (Denton et ul., 1980; Marshall et al., 1984). suggest that mitochondria may be involved in the action of the enterotoxin.


Malignant lymphomas involving major salivary glands have been reported to occur in 31 cases. To these, we add 33 cases, 17 of which were studied in detail from the points of view of clinical presentation, classification (Rappaport), staging (Ann Arbor), therapy, and subsequent course. The parotid gland was involved much more frequently than the submandibular gland. No example of sublingual gland involvement was discovered in the present series. Most of the patients were in the sixth and seventh decades of life. Noteworthy is that all sub-types of lymphosarcoma were encountered, with only a single case of Hodgkin's disease present. In four of the patients, the characteristic histologic picture of lymphoepithelial lesion was found in juxtaposition to malignant lymphoma. The majority of patients received one or more courses of postoperative radiotherapy, which offered the best chance for long-term remission. However, only 40% of patients were free of disease after two years.


Putin establishes a strategy of preferential for development in education,promotes vigorously educational modern development and puts forward some new ideas for education that focus on patriotism.


Study Objective: To review our experience with low-grade endometrial cancer managed with vaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (vNOTES) to determine the feasibility of this approach. Design: Retrospective review of the first fifty cases of endometrial cancer treated by vNOTES Setting: Academic University Population: Fifty consecutive cases of vNOTES management of women with low-grade endometrial cancer were reviewed to detail patient characteristics, operative procedures and outcomes, complications and follow-up. Methods: Patients underwent vNOTES hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. If Mayo criteria for lymphadenectomy were met, a laparoscopic lymph node removal was performed. Main Results: Mean age was 63 (33-90); mean BMI was 35.4 (22-58). In 44 women, both tubes and ovaries were removed via vNOTES. Three women had their ovaries retained due to early age, one woman had exploration for removal of an ovary with metastatic disease, and two women had neither tubes nor ovaries removed due to atresia and inability to identify these organs. Two patients underwent laparoscopic lymphadenectomy on the bases of frozen section evaluation. Mean operative time was 98 minutes (30-215). Fourteen patients were discharged the day of surgery; 34 discharged after overnight observation; hospitalization was prolonged in one patient due to ileus and one patient underwent laparotomy 30 hours after vNOTES for bleeding. Conclusion: VNOTES is a feasible management strategy for women with low-grade endometrial cancer. It permits laparoscopic inspection of the abdomen and direct visualization of vascular pedicles. It can provide a rapid recovery with minimal discomfort and no visible scar.


The stabilized medicine composition of ambroxol hydrochloride granule consists of ambroxol hydrochloride as effective component, stabilizer and pharmaceutically acceptable soluble supplementary material in proportion of 1 to 0.01-1 to 15-50, preferably 1 to 0.05-0.2 to 15-30. The medicine composition of the present invention has no chemical pick-up forming unstable brown agglomeration during the combination of ambroxol hydrochloride with monosaccharide or polysaccharide, especially lactose, has simple operation and low cost, and is suitable for industrial production.


The deep dream is one of the most recent techniques in deep learning. It is used in many applications, such as decorating and modifying images with motifs and simulating the patients' hallucinations. This study presents a deep dream model that generates deep dream images using a convolutional neural network (CNN). Firstly, we survey the layers of each block in the network, then choose the required layers, and extract their features to maximize it. This process repeats several iterations as needed, computes the total loss, and extracts the final deep dream images. We apply this operation on different layers two times; the former is on the low-level layers, and the latter is on the high-level layers. The results of applying this operation are different, where the resulting image from applying deep dream on the high-level layers are clearer than those resulting from low-level layers. Also, the loss of the images of low-level layers ranges between 31.1435 and 31.1435, while the loss of the images of upper layers ranges between 20.0704 and 32.1625.


We report on a measurement of cross sections for neutron-induced transitions on germanium, using one target with nat-ural isotopic abundances and another enriched in 76 Ge, and 136 Xe. These reactions were investigated to determine neutron-induced contributions to background con-tamination in the regions of interest for searches of neutrinoless double beta decay of 76 Ge and 136 Xe; an accurate understanding of this background is a requisite for any compelling result. These measurements were undertaken at Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory (TUNL) using a neutron beam with 8 MeV energy generated with the 2 H(d,n) 3 He source reaction.


Recently, numerous advances have been made in the development of the genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as food. The world general public, however, has shown anxiety over this new technology. Pressure from consumer groups and public demand has demand has led several countries to require labeling for the presence of GMOs in food. Nucleotide-based amplification method is an important system for the identification of genomic modified foods (GMF). Bt Transgenic Rice was used as material to search for feasibility of investigating the safety of GMF by PCR method. The discrimination system for Bt Transgenic Rice from the counterpart of non-GM products and the detection system for correlating marker genes and transgenic are established. The method was easy and fast, and the corresponding results fixed the standard or declared data.


Raytheon Services Nevada has developed a classification process based on probabilistic risk assessment, using accident/impact scenarios for each system classified. Initial classification analyses were performed for the 20 systems of Package IA of the Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF). The analyses demonstrated a solid, defensible methodological basis for classification which minimizes the use of direct engineering judgment. They provide guidance for ESF design and risk management through the identification of: The critical characteristics of each system that need to be controlled; and the parts of the information base that most need to be further developed through performance assessment or other efforts.


Purpose – A number of studies have examined the convergence in European real estate markets and find that convergence is time‐varying. Additionally, the returns of some countries, notably the UK, are as equally, if not more, influenced by the real estate returns in the USA than those in Europe. This paper aims to study the time‐varying convergence of the UK securitised real estate market shows with countries within Europe relative to that with the USA.Design/methodology/approach – This paper utilizes a model estimated using a Kalman filter.Findings – Using monthly data over the period 1990‐2007 we show that from 1990 to 1998 the returns of the UK securitised real estate were more influenced by the US market than the other countries in Europe. However, from autumn 1998 to 2004 the short‐run movements in the return of the UK securitised real estate market became increasingly associated with movements in the other countries in Europe market rather than the USA. But since 2004 the returns in the UK real estat...


This is a conceptual paper on the study of Ummah Social Responsibility (USR) through the life of outstanding role of Caliphate Umar Ibn "Abd. Al-"Aziz (CUAZ) during Umayyad Dynasty. This study is aimed to seek the real meaning of Ummah Social Responsibility in Islam as compared to what understood by Western in their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The USR should be understood well by Muslim for betterment of Insan Development. This paper will point out some areas of Ummah Social Responsibility (USR) elements as opposed to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in today"s world. The paper will highlight some positive activities and initiatives contributed by Caliphate Umar Ibn "Abd. Al-"Aziz (CUAZ) Insan development. It is hoped that this paper will provide a distinctive view during Caliphate"s time and how it could embark in today"s current and future Ummah Social Responsibility as it could be vital factor for Insan development.


at the appropriate distance between the ophthalmoscope and the eye under inspection if greater resolution is desired. The lens must not fluoresce, and all examinations are made in a darkened room. There appear to be a number of interesting possibilities for the ultra-violet ophthalmoscope in medical and biological science, not only for the study of the internal eye structures, but also for the examination of such exposed regions as the brightly fluorescent sclera. As is well known, cataract tissue fluoresces differently than its normal surroundii)g tissue: hence, with this instrument greater assurance might be had of complete removal of all pathological tissue from the cornea; lesions of the cornea and sclera are revealed by their green fluorescence after uranine solution has been dropped into the eye; neoplasms and other disease tissue present marked differences under high intensity ultra-violet light, as frequently do the different kinds of normal tissue.


Introduction, Korkut A. Erturk ReOrient: From the Centrality of Central Asia to China's Middle Kingdom, Andre Gunder Frank Patterns of Legitimization of Rule in the History of the Turks, Isenbike Togan Central Asian Societies and the Oral Literature of Epic Heroes, Lois A. Giffen Tribe, Confederation and State among Altaic Nomads of the Asian Steppes, Sharon Bastug Abdurreshid Ibrahim and Zeki Velidi Togan in the History of the Muslims of Russia, Serif Mardin Uzbekistan between Central Asia and the Middle East: Another Perspective, A. Aydin Cecen In Search of an Approach to the History of Women In Central Asia, Isenbike Togan


One of the main issues of human civilization is how to fulfill the food needs. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations predicted that in 2050 the world population will grow to 9.1 billion people. It means that food production needs to be raised by 70% between 2005 and 2050 in order to feed a world population of 9.1 billion people. UN also predicts that 60% of the global population will live in urban areas by 2030. This will lead to the expansion of the metropolitan area of the city and conversely the reduction of agricultural land. On the other hand, the development of technology in the area of IT leads to the appearance of technology called the Internet of Things (IoT). In this paper, we present the design, development, and implementation of our preliminary research about the smart hydroponic system using the IoT concept to connect it to the cloud server.


Analyses of fodder, milk, meat, and bone carried out in the Uzbek Republic in 1966-67 showed that 62% of the beta activity present in green fodder and 94% of that in meat are due to /sup 40/K. Other products fall between these two values. To /sup 90/Sr = /sup 90/Y are due 1% of the beta activity in cottonseed meal, 0.6% in meat, 1.4% in milk, and 82% in bone. The radionuclide / sup 137/Cs is responsible for lower percentages of the beta activity. These and other data indicate that the beta activity in Uzbek products of veterinary interest is due chiefiy to natural radioactive products. (TTT)


In a recent paper (Cairns and Fuchs 2010 Nucl. Fusion 80 095001) we have shown how the asymptotic method of stationary phase can be used to find the radiation pattern from an antenna in the far field region. The novel feature of this work is that it describes how to obtain the wave amplitude and phase in complex geometries where an explicit solution in terms of a phase integral is not available. Instead the necessary information is obtained from ray-tracing methods. Here we show how this method can be adapted to give the evolution of a short pulse in a plasma with arbitrary space and time dependence. Again the exact wave form of the pulse, including phase information, can be obtained from ray tracing. This provides a computationally simple way of calculating the behaviour of a short pulse that may be useful in studying some problems in laser–plasma interactions.


The results of bioasays of five fungicides showed that Mancozeb had strong inhibition to conidia germination and germ tube growth of maize curvularia,with the EC50 value of 1.86 and 0.49 mg/kg respectively.And Difenoconazole showed strong refrain effect on the Mycelium growth,with an EC50 value of 0.68 mg/kg.


--Improving knowledge and understanding of diabetes among primary care professionals and patients has triggered service improvements in one PCT. --Diabetes care once given in hospital is now provided in primary care. --Referrals to hospital have halved and waiting time reduces.


The quality of subsidy housing provided by the government influences the lives of millions of South Africans directly. One of the problems experienced by residents in subsidy houses in South Africa is the problem of lacking thermal comfort. This leads to high levels of indoor pollution through the use of coal burning heating devices. For households who use electricity as a heat source this leads to high running costs. The resultant peak demand is a major problem for local governments and electricity suppliers. This paper proposes a framework that analyses the interface between social dynamics and thermal effects in order to formulate hypothesis for further research. The method is demonstrated with recent social research done in eMbalenhle in Mpumalanga, South Africa.


The facultative intracellular bacterium Bartonella henselae enters human
endothelial cells either passively by conventional phagocytosis or actively by a
pathogen-triggered process known as invasome-mediated internalization. The latter
involves the formation of a cell-surface-associated bacterial aggregate, which is
subsequently engulfed by host cell membranes eventually resulting in its complete
internalization.
Recent work indicated that invasome formation of B. henselae depends on its
VirB/VirD4 T4SS.
This work describes that the VirB/VirD4 T4SS of B. henselae injects a cocktail
of seven effector proteins into endothelial host cells to subvert cellular functions and
that one of these translocated effector proteins, BepG, mediates the sustained
cytoskeletal changes leading to invasome formation. Moreover, this work indicates the
existence of two non-redundant pathways to promote invasome formation, one of
which is governed by the action of BepG and another one, involving further Bep
proteins, which is BepG-independent.
On the host cell side, Rho-family small GTPases Cdc42 and Rac1, but not RhoA
are shown to be required for invasome-mediated internalization. Furthermore, it is
shown that invasome formation leads both to the rearrangement of pre-existing F-actin
fibers and to localized actin polymerization enriched for Arp2/3, which occurs in a
Scar1/WAVE-dependent manner. Finally, this work provides evidence that after
complete internalization the invasome membranes do not fuse with Lamp-1 positive
lysosomes, indicating that invasome-mediated invasion represents a novel mechanism
allowing the uptake of bacteria without entering the endocytic-lysosomal pathway.
Importantly, this is the first report, which attributes the orchestrated action of
more than one effector protein of B. henselae to a known VirB/VirD4 T4SS-dependent
phenotype, namely invasome formation, which represents a multifacetted example for
the complexity of host cell subversion by a bacterial pathogen.


Kappapyhcus alvarezii seaweed or more commonly known as Eucheuma cottonii is a potential commodity to be developed because seaweed has many benefits. The problem found in the development of seaweed in Indonesia is the number of pests and diseases in seaweed, especially ice-ice. In vitro culture techniques have become an alternative to help overcome the problems that are often faced in the provision of seeds through conventional means. There are 6 stages in seaweed tissue culture, namely broodstock acclimatization, callus induction, callus/micropropagule regeneration, micropropagule regeneration, plantlet acclimatization and seed propagation in the sea. During the observation, water quality was still in the normal range, namely temperatures ranging from 25-30 0C, pH between 8.16-8.35 and salinity 34-36 ppt.


Successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method, has emerged as one of the solution methods to deposit a variety of compound materials in thin film form. The SILAR method is simple, inexpensive and convenient for large area deposition. In the present work the colloidal solutions as well as thin films on glass substrates of zinc sulfide and zinc sulfide: copper in Poly-Vinyl alcohol matrix have been prepared through chemical route. In the present study the XRD patterns show a mixed type structures having crystal planes of both cubic zinc blend and wurtzite hexagonal phases. The UV-Visible spectra of zinc sulfide and zinc sulfide: copper shows the enhancement of band gap energy due to the quantum size effect.


To avoid nursing venture effectively,induce nursing venture ratio and provide safe and qualified service to patients.Method:Establish venture management system,increase nurses' venture concept and self diathesis,strengthen management in nursing records and forecast nursing problems and im- plementation in critical patients.Result:Increase nurses' venture concept and professional level and decrease nursing mai-practice.Conclusion:Implementing effective venture management is important in decrease nursing dissension.


Winterson's Written on the Body (1992) deals with a brief but passionate relationship between its narrator and a beautiful, married woman called Louise. The novel tackles romantic relationships, love, loss and sexuality from an experimental point of view and presents an interesting, challenging feature: a genderless narrator. Winterson has created a narrative where every reference to the gender of the narrative voice has been carefully omitted, thus engaging the reader to participate in the construction of both the novel and the narrator's identity. For this reason, I would like to argue that this deliberate play on gender ambiguity places the reader in a situation where he or she is induced to deconstruct perceptions about sexuality.


A conventional story is often told about democracy. It is a story that begins somewhere in the West, some millennia ago. From there, or so this telling goes, democracy spread across the continents; traversing from the familiar epicenters of Western civilization—Athens, London, Washington, Versailles—to the exotic and sometimes alien cultural landscapes in the East. The idea that such a model of democracy, based on an essen


This study aimed at identifying the level of implementing knowledge management processes in colleges of physical education at Jordanian universities as perceived by faculty members. It also aimed to investigate if there were significant differences in the degree of implementing knowledge management processes attributed to gender, years of experience, and academic rank. The sample consisted of (51) faculty members of the faculties of physical education at the University of Jordan and Hashemite University. They completed a 35-item questionnaire representing the four subscales of knowledge management: knowledge creation, knowledge saving and organizing, knowledge transfer and sharing, and knowledge application. Data were analyzed using means, standard deviations, t-test, and one way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results showed that the implementation level of knowledge management processes in colleges of physical education was generally high. The order of knowledge management processes was as follows: knowledge transfer and sharing, followed by knowledge application, then knowledge saving and organizing, and finally knowledge creation. The results also showed that there were no statistically significant differences in the level of implementing knowledge management processes due to the variables of gender, experience, and academic rank.
Keywords:


An apparatus for providing a heterogeneous sensor network-based USN(Ubiquitous Sensor Network) directory service and a method thereof are provided to support the development of application services based on heterogeneous sensor networks more easily by providing a directory service through a broadband network, such as the Internet, so that users can uniquely identify various sensor networks and register or confirm meta data for each sensor network. A heterogeneous sensor network-based USN directory service apparatus(30) comprises a USN meta data storage unit(32) and a USN directory service driving unit(31). The USN meta data storage unit(32) stores meta data for each heterogeneous sensor network. The USN directory service driving unit(31) identifies and manages resources for each heterogeneous sensor network, and stores associated information for each heterogeneous sensor network in the USN meta data storage unit(32) in the form of meta data. If a meta data request for a specific sensor network is generated from an external application program, the USN directory service driving unit(31) obtains meta data for the specific sensor network from the USN meta data storage unit(32) and delivers the obtained meta data to the application program.


An instantaneous polarized phase-shifting interferometer (IPSI) with an optical image combiner is designed to form a one-shot surface profile measurement system. The interference images are captured simultaneously by using one CCD camera. Digital image correlation (DIC) method is applied effectively to correct the position mismatch among the images. Test of the measurement system on flat mirror, tilted mirror and wafer are given. An average error between 0.07μm~0.09μm can be achieved, and the maximum error is about 0.2μm.


This study deals with a three-gear four-bar linkage that transforms a uniform input crank rotation into a forward-dwell motion of the output gear. Closed-form relations allowing to synthesize a geared linkage generating an approximate dwell of specified tolerance are derived. Such intermittent motions are useful in various transport and indexing devices found in textile, printing and packaging machines.


canon, is put into the mouth of the Founder, is in this book also accepted as having been said by him: " The Buddha said . . . " Enough said! save for this one word. What the Buddha is said to have said should have been carefully translated. Even he is not made out to have said " One thing only do I teach . . ." When I introduced that text to English readers in 1912, I at least rendered it by " Just this have I taught and do I teach . . . " The particle era is simply an underlining of the preceding noun, not the making of it a monopoly. " One thing only " is not so rendered in early Pali, or Sanskrit, as any Indologist knows. Yet every Buddhist with a pen in hand unites in this exaggeration. Gotama was so much greater than to make his gospel centre round dukkha. To do that is the doctor's business, not the task of religion. Nor is he even said to have said " This body is of khandha's made ", the correct rendering of the verse, certainly not Gotama's, being : " Burdens are the khandha's five ", four-fifths of the five being mind, not body. These are, it may be said, captious carping. I would say, if we will malign, let it be done accurately.


Light can be used to mediate several chemical processes by changing the reactivity of molecules through their activation, thereby essentially corresponding to an electronic reorganization. This activation can be achieved with the aid of an intermediate molecule or even directly without the need for any additional reagents. According to the principles of sustainable chemistry, this latter option is the ideal choice. The involvement of light-activated catalysts that can initiate a chemical reaction, thereby helping atom transfer or electron transfer, belongs to the field of photocatalysis. Recent examples of these reactions that use solar irradiation include synthetic reactions and clean degradation processes. Otherwise, photochemical catalysis depends on the physical transfer of energy from excited molecules to ground-state molecules that afford excited states through their own reactivity. By using the relatively inexhaustible solar light, several photochemical processes can be performed. Recent examples of photochemical synthetic processes that are promoted by sunlight include trans-to-cis double-bond isomerization and the photo-Friedel–Crafts acylation of 1,4-naphthoquinones. The photochemical oxidation reaction by singlet oxygen is an attractive process, not only because it provides access to useful derivatives, such as endoperoxides and allylic hydroperoxides, but also because it can be achieved by using molecular oxygen and solar radiation, thereby making it an example of a "green" process. This reaction requires the use of a soluble photosensitizer or, better, a heterogenized form, which improves the isolation procedures and is much closer to sustainable chemistry principles. Porphyrins are excellent photosensitizers and their covalent immobilization on polymeric matrices has been shown to give very active singlet-oxygen-generating materials. Porphyrins with halogen atoms in the meso-phenyl positions are better singlet-oxygen generators, mainly owing to the heavy-atom effect. In the case of supported porphyrins, the type of support and the role of the spacer in photooxygenation reactions have been studied previously by ourselves. Photosensitizer Ps1 has been shown to be an active catalyst and, herein, two new supported photosensitizers with different spacer groups were prepared (Ps2 and Ps3, Scheme 1). The linking of porphyrins to Merrifield polymers began with the synthesis of a non-symmetric halogenated tetra-arylporphyrin (1) in a reaction sequence that did not involve any chromatographic purification steps. In fact, the chlorosulfonation reaction was performed directly on the mixture that was obtained from the condensation step. Owing to the different reactivities of the phenyl and 2,6-dichlorophenyl rings, a selective chlorosulfonation of the unsubstituted phenyl ring was achieved to give the reactive chlorosulfonylporphyrin derivative (2). Subsequent condensation with aminated Merrifield polymers Mp1–Mp3 gave photosensitizers Ps1–Ps3, 12] with different spacers between the polymer backbone and the porphyrin macrocycle. The level of porphyrin incorporation into the polymer structure was calculated from elemental analysis of the supported photosensitizers, taking into account the nitrogen content of the Merrifield-modified polymers (Mp1–Mp3, Table 1).


Cytology has long embraced the notion of doing more with less. The ability to extract increasingly complex diagnostic information using minimally invasive sampling methods is a defining strength of our specialty. The growing use of diagnostic molecular testing (MT) on thyroid fine‐needle aspiration (FNA) samples is a case in point. For thyroid aspirates that are classified in the lower risk indeterminate categories of the Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology—atypia of undetermined significance (AUS) or follicular neoplasm (FN)—ancillary MT can provide additional insight into a nodule's biologic potential beyond what we can glean from cytomorphology alone. FNA‐based MT for thyroid nodules has taken several forms over the past decade and a half. At its simplest, detection of the BRAF V600E mutation in a thyroid aspirate is virtually diagnostic of malignancy because of its high specificity and positive predictive value for papillary carcinoma. BRAF testing in thyroid cancers may offer prognostic and theranostic information as well. For the purposes of refining cancer probability among cytologically indeterminate nodules, however, single‐gene testing for BRAF V600E has not gained much traction in the West. As a stand‐alone marker, BRAF V600E has relatively low sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV) for cancer among cytologically indeterminate nodules. This mutation is found in approximately 40% of thyroid cancers and comprises <5% of thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytology. Therefore, the absence of this mutation in a cytologically indeterminate nodule generally does not preempt diagnostic surgery in the United States. Advances in molecular diagnostics have propelled the expansion of biomarkers tested in thyroid FNA samples. Examples over the years include the seven‐marker panel (comprising hotspot mutations in BRAF, HRAS, KRAS, and NRAS and fusion genes PAX8::PPARG, CCDC6::RET, and NCOA4::RET), microRNA expression profiling, next‐ generation sequencing oncogene panels, and gene expression profiling using expression microarrays or next‐generation sequencing. In the United States, commercial reference laboratories offer complex testing platforms that combine broad genotyping panels with gene and/or microRNA expression profiling for risk‐ stratifying thyroid FNA samples. The cumulative growth of biomarkers in these MT panels has led to incremental increases in the NPV (Figure 1), to the point where a cytologically indeterminate nodule with a negative MT result is understood to have a very low cancer risk, approaching that of cytologically benign nodules. Although these combined, multigene panels are becoming the norm in the United States, such is not the case globally. In this issue of Cancer Cytopathology, Hirokawa et al. highlight several factors contributing to differences in thyroid FNA practice between Asia and the West. At the core of these differences is a less is more mindset that prevails in the Asian approach to caring for patients with thyroid nodules. Active surveillance plays a prominent role in the management of most cytologically indeterminate nodules in Asia. In Japan, active surveillance has also been applied to carefully selected patients with small, clinically low‐risk, FNA‐proven papillary carcinoma. The effects of this approach include: (1) relatively low surgical rates for cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules in Asian practices; and, as expected, (2) a higher prevalence of malignancy among those indeterminate nodules that are selected for resection. As Hirokawa et al. describe, the less is more perspective that is characteristic of Asian practices extend to MT as well. For cytologically indeterminate nodules, Asian physicians appear to rely primarily on clinical and sonographic features (rather than MT) to determine whether immediate surgery is warranted. For those Asian practices in which ancillary MT has been used, single‐gene testing for BRAF V600E (as opposed to complex multigene panels) predominates and has been proposed as a potentially cost‐effective complement to active surveillance. The higher prevalence of BRAF V600E mutation in papillary carcinomas reported in Asian studies likely informs this testing strategy. The management differences that underlie these global variations in MT choice may be summarized as follows: In the context of thyroid nodule management, a lower tolerance for uncertainty has historically favored diagnostic surgery for clinically and/or cytologically indeterminate nodules in the United States. In this framework, the development of MT represents a part of the movement toward more conservative management strategies for thyroid nodules. As such, a high NPV for ruling out cancer (as demonstrated by large, multigene, combinedMT panels) has been a priority in the United States. The goal of these tests has been to identify the subgroup of patients who can safely be observed instead of undergoing diagnostic lobectomy (Figure 2A). In contrast, for Asian practices that have traditionally favored active surveillance for clinically low‐risk, cytologically indeterminate nodules, ancillary tests with a high NPV have not been a priority. Instead, tests with a high positive predictive value—including single‐gene testing for BRAF V600E—may be sufficient to identify the


Hugh MacDiarmid is sometimes still thought a parochial poet, mostly interested in the depiction of rural Scotland. However, in the 1930s, he wrote several poems about the city of Glasgow but his work on urban predicaments has been largely forgotten. In his Glasgow sequence, MacDiarmid, along with many other writers in the 30s, redefines Scotland as an urban nation. Post-industrial Glasgow urges the whole country to "re-write" itself and the canonical representation of rural Scotland to fade away. Scotland is mercilessly deconstructed in "Glasgow 1938": Glasgow is no longer "a dear green place", Scotland no longer a land of peasants but urban hell where filthy disease and dirty capitalism spread around, murdering creation and culture. The stones of Glasgow reveal the betrayal of old Scotland, whose imaginative voice has been muted by sentimentality, Anglo-Scottish education and Calvinism. But even through scathing criticism, it is the need to "re-write" Scotland as a cradle of cultural and political change that emerges. How to "re-write" a nation? By letting anger and its poetical rhythm redefine Scotland and turn it into a communist city of light. The style and syntax of the Glasgow poems tend, not only to express meaning, but to perform. This attempt at writing a long poem stems from MacDiarmid's experiments to rebuild Scotland anew, from his faith in the political and performative power of his poetry. To "re-write" Scotland means to "re-create" it.


In this paper, the scheduling problem of dense observation data in a numerical weather model assimilation system is studied and an algorithm of "deal-reveal" is proposed. The algorithm identifies the area where all dense observation stations are located, and then obtains a certain number of grid point on which the value represents the stations quantity overlaid on it. The algorithm selects the stations with maximum value corresponding to the dense observation data iteratively and make the amount of each batch of dense observation stations as more as possible to reduce the batch number, enhances the overall performance of the system finally.


A synchronization design technology is adopted, and the encoding method of the address and data of membership function and fuzzy control rules is presented, as well the structure of look-up table. To implementing the fuzzy logic control arithmetic based on FPGA, a kind of method is presented to construct the individual module of Fuzzy logic controller such as Fuzzification of input based on triangle membership function, fuzzy inference of Max-Min-Inference and Defuzzification by the method of Center of Gravity. The inner resources of FPGA including memory, logic gate and macro cell etc are utilized to do it. The fuzzy agrithmetic based on FPGA is embedded into a servo control system of electrical actuator and it validates the realizability and real-time function.


The present invention provides for compositions comprising a polymeric hydrogel impregnated with a toxin-absorbing or binding nanoparticle. The present invention also provides for the use of the above compositions for decreasing or neutralizing the effect of a toxin, or for treating or preventing an infection by a microbe that produces a toxin, in a subject. The exemplary toxin is a biological toxin such as a viral, bacterial, fungal, plant or animal toxin.


In active sonar tracking applications, targets frequently undergo fading in which the target's detection probability can shift suddenly between high and low values. This characteristic is a function of the undersea environment. Using a multisensor active sonar problem, we examine the performance of track management (confirmation and termination) routines where target detections are based on an underlying hidden Markov model (HMM) with high and low detection states. Rule-based track confirmation tests are compared including M/N rules and rules that differentiate the measurements by receiver source (M/N from at least C sensors), each of which is suboptimal compared with a fixed-length likelihood ratio test. We show that significant performance improvements (to near-optimal) can be obtained using a composite track confirmation test that combines two or three such rules in a logical OR operation. Track termination tests are next compared, and it is shown that a Bayesian sequential test (the Shiryaev test) yields dramatic performance improvements over a K/N track termination rule and the Page test. The model-based results are validated using simulations of a multisensor tracking scenario. The results of this paper are informed by a multisensor sonar application. However, targets may fade in and out of view in other modalities as well, due to aspect-dependent radar cross-section or occlusion. As such, our suggestions for improved HMM-modulated SNR track initiation and termination apply to multisensor radar target tracking as well.


The Gres d'Annot Formation is an upper Eocene sandstone-rich turbidite system deposited in the Alpine foreland basin. The formation is little deformed and is preserved with its substrate. An angular unconformity marks the base of the formation, and turbidite deposition was controlled by the structural topography within the basin. Sequence analysis and stepwise structural restoration were applied to the Mesozoic and Tertiary succession to precisely define the geometry of the Gres d'Annot basin floor at stages through its evolution. The facies associations that characterize various paleoslope settings are the basis for a general predictive model for topographically complex turbidite basins. The distribution of sedimentary facies and the lateral continuity of depositional units are determined by the scale and orientation of paleoslopes with respect to the sediment gravity flows. The Gres d'Annot turbidite system is an analog for a number of hydrocarbon-bearing turbidite reservoirs.


This paper describes a method for automated detec-tion and resolution method of conflicts in complex of information security software, based on the analysis of system performance.


In a remarkable chapter on the Roman Campagna Sir Archibald Geikie has given the facts relating to the geological formation of those hills, which were to become later the cradle of the Roman civilisation, when the volcanic platform of the Campagna, no longer increased by fresh eruptions, was carved by subaërial agencies into the topography which it presents to-day. Among such agencies, which were both chemical and biological, may be mentioned those which prepared the vegetable soil and clothed it with oaks and beeches on the hills, with laurels and myrtles along the sea-coast, and with reeds and equiseta on the banks of the river. Then came Man, who may have watched the last gigantic natural fireworks of the Alban volcanoes from Mount Soracte, which had by that time ceased to be an island.


The study is aimed to investigate the learners' perspectives of perceived needs on their ESP (English for Specific Purposes) courses. This study reviewed the literature on needs analysis for ESP course design, offered a feasible measurement as an alternative approach, and described an example of needs analysis in an international business course at a university of technology. Two groups of 257 participants of varying proficiency levels participated in the study, including English major and non-English major students. A learner's needs analysis questionnaire was administered to collect data from the subjects using the survey method. The data was analyzed via the SPSS software package for window. It was concluded that the most problematic area was writing skill.


Let P be a set of h pairwise-disjoint polygonal obstacles with a total of n vertices in the plane. In this paper, we consider the problem of building a data structure that can quickly compute an L1 shortest obstacle-avoiding path between any two query points s and t. We build a data structure of size O(n + h2 · log h · 4√log h) in O(n + h2 · log2 h · 4√log h) time that answers each query in O(log n + k) time, where k is the number of edges of the output path. Note that n + h2 · log2 h · 4√log h = O(n+h2+ϵ) for any constant ϵ > 0. We also extend our techniques to the weighted rectilinear version in which the "obstacles" of P are rectilinear regions with "weights" and allow L1 paths to travel through them with weighted costs. Our algorithm answers each query in O(log n + k) time with a data structure of size O(n2 · log n · 4√log n) that is built in O(n2 · log2 n · 4√log n) time.


When corporations increase media coverage during a retail investor stock market wave, there is a significant increase in the power of the wave. The study tests the performance of 50 stocks using wave theory to select appropriate investor waves and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis to determine the impact of increased media coverage and illustrates the strategic use of investor relations in achieving corporate financial goals.


Cryptographic hash functions are important cryptographic techniques and are used widely in many cryptographic applications and protocols. All the MD4 design based hash functions such as MD5, SHA-1, RIPEMD-160 and FORK-256 are built on Merkle-Damgård iterative method. Recent differential and generic attacks against these popular hash functions have shown weaknesses of both specific hash functions and their underlying Merkle-Damgård construction. In this paper we propose a hash function follows design principle of NewFORK-256 and based on HAIFA construction. Its compression function takes three inputs and generates a single output of 256-bit length. An extra input to a compression function is a 64-bit counter (number of bits hashed so far). HAIFA construction shows strong resistance against major generic and other cryptanalytic attacks. The security of proposed hash function against generic attacks, differential attack, birthday attack and statistical attack was analyzed in detail. It is shown that the proposed hash function has high sensitivity to an input message and is secure against different cryptanalytic attacks.


The formation conditions and process of hydraulic fracturing of clay core-wall was studied by centrifugal model test. The specimen was a clay column with rectangular cross section. The result shows that the hydraulic fracturing happens to the specimen when upstream water pressure is higher than the earth pressure acting on the soil core, and seepage fracture occurs consequently. It is conclude that in engineering practice, the hydraulic fracturing will occur if the soil pressure of dam shell acting on the core-wall is less than the reservoir water pressure.


About 134 canine ovaries were collected after routine ovariohysterectomy and 4,848 cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were retrieved. Out of these, 1,080 good quality COCs were cultured in TCM-199 medium supplemented with 10% estrus bitch serum and incubated in 5% CO2 at 37оC for 96 h. These COCs were matured either without (control) or with sequential addition of gonadotropic and steroidal hormones. After 96 h maturation period, the percent COCs expansion and oocyte maturation rate was better in groups in which hormones were added in maturation medium.